9of 11Baylor wide receiver Corey Coleman dives into the end zone for a touchdown as he is tackled by Kansas safety Michael Glatczak during the first half on Oct. 10, 2015, in Lawrence, Kan. Baylor won 66-7.Photo: Charlie Riedel /Associated Press

11of 11Baylor wide receiver Corey Coleman leaps into the end zone for a score in front of Texas Tech defensive back Keenon Ward (15) and linebacker D’Vonta Hinton (34) in the second half on Oct. 3, 2015, in Arlington. Baylor won 63-35.Photo: Roger Steinman /Associated Press

WACO — Corey Coleman has a simple plan that has worked throughout his college career at Baylor.

“Every time I strap on the pads, I feel like I have to be the best player out there, and the best for my team,” he said.

The junior wide receiver’s aspirations have been achieved this season. Coleman has emerged as one of the nation’s top players and arguably the top receiver.

After Baylor’s first six games, he has 40 receptions including a national-best 16 for touchdowns. Coleman leads the nation in that category and in scoring.

Those TD catches are more than 114 FBS teams have produced this season. It also enabled him to break Kendall Wright’s Baylor’s single-season record of 15. Adn Coleman still has six games remaining in the regular season.

“I play video games and I don’t think I’ve ever had a receiver with 16 touchdowns in half a season,” Coleman said, chuckling. “That’s pretty hard to do — even in video games.”

COLEMAN IN ELITE COMPANY

It made a believer out of West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen, who called Coleman the best player in the nation after he torched the Mountaineers for 10 receptions, 199 yards and three touchdowns in Baylor’s 62-38 victory last week. It was his fourth time this season that Coleman has produced at least three TD catches in a game.

Holgorsen provided several reasons why Coleman is so effective.

“He’s different. he’s strong, he’s twitchy, he’s fast. He has great ball skills and is physical with 16 TDs in six games,” Holgorsen said. “What he’s doing speaks for itself.”

Coleman considers himself “blessed” and “thankful” for Holgorsen’s glowing endorsement. Other Big 12 coaches have been tripping over themselves with similar assessments.

“Everyone has their opinion,” Coleman said. “But you can’t change the way you see yourself. If you look in the mirror and say, ‘I’m the best player,’ nobody can change what you think of yourself.”

But he’s a little hesitant to accept Holgorsen’s platitudes, insisting much remains to accomplish during the rest of the second-ranked Bears’ schedule.

“I’ll let you know at the end of the season,” Coleman said with a wry smile.

After coming to Baylor as a four-star recruit following a standout career as a quarterback at J.J. Pearce High School in Richardson, Coleman got off to a slow start in college. He was held back by a hamstring injury that led him to redshirt as a freshman.

“It was really humbling,” Coleman said. “It helped me to get back close with God, honestly. And it gave me some time to think and learn some stuff.”

More Information

Very well received

Here’s a list of the five fastest starts for touchdown catches since 2000 in college football:

Name

School

Year

No

Yds

TD

Michael Crabtree

Texas Tech

2007

70

1,074

17

Corey Coleman

Baylor

2015

41

877

16

Steadman Bailey

W. Virginia

2012

55

766

14

Larry Fitzgerald

Pittsburgh

2003

45

869

13

Justin Blackmon

Okla. State

2010

57

955

12

Source: Collegefootballreference.com

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Most notably, he started working diligently in the Bears’ strength and conditioning program. After failing to lift weights in high school, he has bulked up from 169 pounds when he arrived at Baylor to 193 pounds on his 5-foot-11 frame now.

“I was fast in high school, but I wasn’t as explosive as I am now,” Coleman said. “I used to think lifting weights would make you slower. I was stubborn.”

With a 4.38 time in the 40-yard dash and 45.1-inch vertical jump, Coleman is Baylor’s fastest and most athletic player. It earned him mention as college football’s “most freakish athlete” and “most explosive player” selected earlier this year by NFL.com.

Coleman’s competitive spirit has helped make him one of the Bears’ most vocal team leaders.

“I don’t take losing well,” Coleman said. “I don’t really like losing. It’s just built inside me. It doesn’t matter if we’re racing or playing rock, paper, scissors. I just want to win.”

Briles said Coleman still has much work to do during the remainder of the season. History has showed that Baylor receivers typically slow down over the second half. The record for most touchdown receptions in the second half of the season in the Briles-era is seven by Thomas White (2007), Terrance Williams (2011) and Levi Norwood (2013).

But Coleman’s combination of strength and skill might enable him to continue his blistering start, Briles said.

“You can have a lot of passion, you can have a lot of toughness, you can have a lot of energy, you can have a lot of spirit, but if you don’t have talent, then you’re still going to be normal,” Briles said. “He’s got all that with talent, and that’s what allows him to separate and be different. So yeah, he’s very, very good.”

If Coleman can continue his success, he could break the current FBS single-season record of 27 touchdown catches set by Troy Edwards of Louisiana Tech in 1998. Edwards had 140 receptions that season to set the mark.

A trip to the Heisman Trophy presentation could be riding on a fast finish.

Tim Griffin has been a journalist for more than 30 years working at a variety of newspapers and websites, including more than 25 years at the San Antonio Express-News. He has covered all four Spurs NBA championship series victories, along with 12 national championship football games and five Final Fours. Griffin has been honored nationally and regionally for his writing and enterprise and was a former national president of the Football Writers Association of America. He is a graduate of the University of Memphis and is married with one son.